Valletta

The capital of Malta is one of the smallest national capitals in the world and one of the most concentrated historic cities in Europe, built in a single campaign by the Knights of St John following the Great Siege of 1565 on a barren promontory between two of the finest natural harbors in the Mediterranean. The grid of baroque streets holds an extraordinary density of palaces, churches, and auberges, and the Upper Barrakka Gardens terrace provides the canonical elevated view over the Grand Harbour toward the Three Cities. St John's Co-Cathedral contains Caravaggio's largest canvas, the Beheading of John the Baptist.